Hope in Vernon Parish

Snookie and Mickey Young show Louisiana Conference Disaster Mase manager Patti Noel where the water line was in their Sabine River home following the March 2016 flood.

January 22, 2017

Remembering the day they waked from sleep to receive the text message that screamed, “You only have minutes to evacuate!” is a sobering reflection for Sabine River residents Snookie and Mickey Young. This day, however, their faces are relaxed and joyful as they watch team members from two North Texas Conference churches put finishing touches on the restoration project, a project the couple has largely done themselves with borrowed money and their own financial resources.

Volunteers from Coppell United Methodist Church and Vista Ridge United Methodist Church continued the painstaking work of restoring a home on stilts that had never seen water inside, until the punishing rain of March 2016 threatened to overwhelm the dam, and the decision was made to release water. The Youngs had just 20 minutes to gather what they could. In those 20 minutes, they had to make a frightening decision to leave their dog behind. “We didn’t have time to get Maggie,” Snookie said. Four days after the decision to leave, they arrived, by boat, to find five feet of water had destroyed their home and washed everything unsecured away. Fortunately, their dog Maggie was okay.

The Young's have received help from a disaster case management team in Vernon Parish, inspired by the commitment and early relief work of United Methodist pastor Rev. Angela Bulhof and her two-person team of disaster case manager United Methodist pastor Rev. Jesus Perez and project manager/case manager Patti Noel.

Through a grant from UMCOR to the Louisiana Conference, flood survivors all over the state are receiving the help they need. If you would like to help the Louisiana Annual Conference respond to the growing needs all across Louisiana, please visit www.LouisianaDisasterResponse.com for more on how you can give financially or help volunteer.